Ch.12
It was quiet inside the carriage; I just sat impatiently looking outside the window. The sky had turned to a dark blue, sort of indigo color. It was dark none the less but thankfully it didn't look like it was going to rain.
"How much longer?" I asked, more like whined.
"Not long, about 15 more minutes." Sebastian said.
"No wonder we left early, it's already been 15 minutes since we left." I muttered.
"Quit complaining, most people would be overjoyed if they were meeting the Queen. More of a reason for you since you may or may not be given a title. If she does allow you to work with pup over there, you will have a lot of things on your hands." Derrick said.
"He's absolutely right-Wait, pup?!" Ciel exclaimed.
"I am fully aware of that, and do you have to bully Ciel at every given chance you get?" I said chuckling lightly.
"Well considering the circumstance I don't see any reason not to." Derrick said shrugging.
"I sure as hell do!" Ciel said through gritted teeth.
"Come on stop fighting, at least try to be nice to each other until this is over." Sebastian said.
"The sooner we get there the better." I sighed.
"I wouldn't get too ahead of yourself." Derrick said.
"Right, we still don't know if there is any threat to you once we get there." Sebastian said.
"As long as she doesn't run off then I think we will be okay." Ciel said.
"Hey! Don't I get a say in any of this?! Besides you make it seem as though I cause all the trouble here." I said.
"Well, you do." Derrick said.
"Thanks for being so straightforward." I muttered.
"Looks like we are here." Sebastian said as the carriage came to a stop.
"It's a good thing we still have time to spare, Derrick you have to settle some things with your family. Try not to take too long." Sebastian said again.
"Got it, anything else?" Derrick asked getting out.
"Keep an eye out." Sebastian said.
"Shall we?" Derrick asked as he stretched out his hand to help me out.
"My pleasure." I said.
The house, no, the mansion that I had been standing in front of was much larger than Ciel's manor. Almost 2 times the size of it, it had large gates surrounding the exterior and a large set of steps to enter. The doors were large and dark, with a lion engraved on its' handles.
"Wow." I said in awe.
"Nice isn't it. Now, be careful, if you find anything suspicious just try to keep quiet." Sebastian said.
"Okay." I said.
"I'll meet up with you soon." Derrick said as he walked up the steps and disappeared into the doors.
"You do remember at least some people right?" Ciel said.
"What?" I asked.
"So that you can socialize and give out a nice impression." Ciel said.
"Oh, yea I remember a majority of them, but I still don't know much about the Queen's family in general." I said.
"Well that's fine I guess we can't have you know everyone. That will just end up having people be suspicious." Ciel said.
"Alright then, I'll try to keep the talking to a minimum." I said.
"Well then, let's go." Sebastian said.
Ciel grabbed my hand and led me up the steps.
"Don't be so stiff, relax a little." Ciel whispered.
"R-Right, by the way why didn't you want Elizabeth to come?" I whispered back.
"Well, it isn't hard to explain so I'll just get to the point. I don't intend to bring my fiancée somewhere if there is a possible threat to her safety, and in all honesty, she would just get in the way." Ciel said sighing softly.
"Oh, but she doesn't seem that bad. I wouldn't even say annoying, she's really nice. Sure she can go overboard a little but…" I trailed off.
"Exactly." Ciel said with a laugh.
A guard was standing in front of the door and took no time in opening it.
"That was easy." I whispered.
"Well, the majority of people here know who I am." Ciel whispered back.
"Oh, right." I replied.
The inside of the mansion was a bright white with gold, paintings hung on the walls; the light was so strong my eyes had to adjust for a moment. A chandelier hung in the middle of the high gold-colored ceiling. There were three long spiraling staircases, and at least four different doors to go through.
How on earth can people live here?!
"Try not to get lost." I heard a familiar voice say.
Of course my suspicions were right, Derrick had been at the top of one of the staircases dressed in a black suit with a long dark coat, his dark hair was combed back and his dark eyes had lightened up a bit. He had a pair of white gloves on and started to descend from the stairs.
"That was rather quick." Ciel said.
"It didn't take too long to explain everything, now; the Queen has asked to speak with you." Derrick said.
Ciel released his grip on my hand and Derrick took it instead, leading us up the staircase he had previously descended from.
"Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary so I think you'll be fine." Derrick whispered.
"Okay, what am I supposed to do?" I whispered back a bit of panic in my voice.
"Nothing in particular, some of the guests will want to talk with you that's all, I'll help you on the way." Derrick replied.
"Why would they want to talk to me anyway, I haven't done much." I said lightly.
"It's just how society is, once they are given another noble some people want to get as close as possible, gossip, ruin, or just get involved. Others just want to know who they are." Derrick whispered again.
"What if-" I started but was abruptly cut off when Derrick squeezed my hand.
"Just stop worrying." he hissed.
We reached the top of the stairs and entered a room full of people, talking, dancing, eating, and drinking. At the very end of the room there was a person dressed all in black with another dressed in white sitting patiently. Once everyone got inside and the door shut I caught the attention of quite a lot of people. I noticed at least 75% of the people in there were some that I researched.
"That's the Queen and her butler, well more of a personal butler Charles." Derrick whispered as he led me through a crowd and towards the Queen.
"Are you sure about this, people are starting to take notice." I said nervously.
"Don't worry." Derrick said and pushed me forward.
"This is Clarissa Stonewell." Derrick said to the Queen who nodded.
She was dressed all in black and had a black lace, sort of veil covering her face.
"Pleased to meet you." I said nervously and bowed.
"The pleasure is all mine, please enjoy your stay. I hope to stay in touch with you." she replied lifting up the veil and smiling kindly.
"Thank you." I said.
"I do hope my nephew here has treated you well." she said.
"Oh, yes he has, he's helped me a lot actually. Thank you very much for the opportunity in coming here and attending the school. It means a lot and I'm more than happy to finally thank you." I said cheerfully.
"There isn't any need for you to do that, you are a very young, smart, and bright girl. You deserve it, now I don't have to waste your time, go on and have a nice time." she said as she covered her face once again.
"It was no problem at all; it was an honor talking to you." I bowed and Derrick led me back to where Ciel and Sebastian were talking to people.
"That went nicely." Derrick said.
"God I was so nervous do you think she liked me?" I asked.
"You worry too much, it went fine." Derrick said.
"I feel as though the man sitting closest to the Queen didn't like me very much though." I said looking over my shoulder to the pale man drinking.
"So you noticed huh? I had a funny feeling about him too; he's the Prime Minister over in Korea." Derrick said.
"How do you know all of this? Do you think he'll be a threat?" I asked.
"From the looks of it, I don't think so. None the less, we should still keep an eye out." Derrick said.
"Did it go well?" Ciel asked.
"I think so." I said.
"That doesn't really help, Derrick how'd it go?" Ciel said.
"It went fine, there didn't seem to be any problems, so I think it was alright." Derrick said.
"Gee, you make me sound like so much help." I muttered.
"My, my, that's such a beautiful dress!" I heard someone say from behind me.
Dear god, please no!
"T-Thank you." I stuttered as I turned around.
A slim red-haired woman with wire-rimmed glasses was standing in front of me smiling; she wore a violet short sleeved dress that was floor length. Her hair hung in waves of velvet red, from what I remember, this woman was Marie Wellington.
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Wellington." I said bowing.
"Oh there is no need for that my dear, I'm not all that special." Marie said.
"Special? Why of course you are, your books are fantastic." I said.
"Thank you very much, but my husband is far more skilled than I am." Marie said.
"Ah, Mr. Wellington's style of writing is very nice as well, if you don't mind my asking, where is he?" Derrick asked from behind.
"Oh, he is currently on a trip to Korea, he is working on another one of his writings." Marie said.
"Oh I see, please give my regards." Derrick said.
"I will see to it." Marie said smiling.
"That's enough for me, what about you? I'd like to know about you if that's alright." Marie said.
"Oh, well what is it that you want to know?" I asked.
"For starters, what are your parents like?" Marie asked.
"My parents? Well they weren't around long enough for me to know." I said.
"You poor thing, I'm sorry for having to bring it up." Marie said.
"It's no problem; this is how you get to know a person isn't it? Well, after that predicament I came here to London and am currently ranked highest in my school." I said.
"You've accomplished a lot at such a young age, what else do you do, like hobbies?" Marie asked.
"I like to read, and love listening to music. Most of the time it was just old records I'd find in the music department." I said.
"Do you play an instrument? Who is your favorite composer?" Marie asked.
"Hmm, that's a tough one, I'd have to say Bach, and yes I play the flute, and piano." I said.
"Wow, you took every opportunity you could once you came here didn't you?" Marie asked with a light chuckle.
"There was just so much that Westen had to offer so I guess you could say that." I said.
"Oh you study at the same school as Mr. Phantomhive?" Marie asked with curiosity.
"Yes, that's how we met actually, quite the coincidence right?" I said.
"That's wonderful, I hope you two have a nice future together." Marie said winking at me.
"U-Uh I think you have the wrong idea." I said worriedly.
"Oh come on, you can't fool these eyes, maybe I should write a light novel about you two, ah 'young love' isn't that nice."
"Mrs. Wellington I assure you that you most definitely made a mistake, Cie- I mean, Mr. Phantomhive, has a fiancée." I said trying to clear this mess.
"That's a shame." Marie said pouting.
"P-Please, it's no shame, I am sure he loves her very much, but there is nothing going on between us, okay?" I asked.
"Alright if you say so, it was nice getting to know you Miss?" Marie asked.
"Oh, Clarissa Stonewell, it was a pleasure talking to you as well." I said.
"The pleasure was all mine Miss Stonewell. I hope to talk to you again." Marie said walking off.
"Dear lord that was awful." I muttered to myself.
"At least you didn't mess up, besides the stuttering." Derrick said.
"Well, she did catch me off guard with that ridiculous assumption." I said slumping back into a chair.
"What assumption?" Derrick said moving my back away from the chair and straightening out my posture.
"That Ciel-Er, Mr. Phantomhive and I had a relationship status." I said.
"Wow." Derrick said before bursting out in laughter.
"What's so funny?" A man said walking towards us.
"Oh nothing." Derrick said immediately ceasing his laughter.
"Come on now, I like to gossip as well." the man said.
"It's nice to see you doing well, Prime Minister." Ciel said from behind.
"Ah, Earl, how have you been?" he asked.
"I've been doing well." Ciel said.
Derrick signaled for me to get up from my chair and introduce myself.
"It's nice to meet you." I said standing up.
"Oh it's a pleasure for me as well." He said stretching out his hand.
"So I take it you're the Prime Minister of Korea am I correct?" I asked shaking his hand.
Ow! What the hell was that!?
"Yes how did you know?" he asked.
"Oh, you see, my uh, care taker here has told me so much about you. Haven't you Derrick?" I asked pulling my hand away quickly.
"Care taker?" the Prime Minister asked.
"Something along the lines of that." Derrick said shaking hands with the man.
"Clary, this is Shan Wu, as I've told you before he is the head of Funtom's Company over in Korea." Derrick said.
"Oh, so that's why you are familiar with Mr. Phantomhive?" I asked.
"Yes that's right." Ciel said.
"How about we go get some drinks?" Derrick asked leading Shan away.
"I have a feeling you don't like Mr. Wu all that much." I whispered.
"Well, I'd have to explain that once we get back to the manor."
I looked down at my hand and saw a bead of red liquid forming.
I knew I felt something, I wonder what I poked myself with?
"Lemonade my lady?" Shan said handing me a glass.
"No thank you." I replied.
"I insist." he pleaded.
"Alright then, may I ask where did Derrick go?" I asked taking a sip.
"Oh yes, he had to attend to something. I'm sure he'll be back in no time." Shan said smiling.
Shan handed Ciel and Sebastian a glass as well and Derrick came holding more glasses, they were full of water.
"Why did you bring water?" I asked.
"I was supposed to get drinks wasn't I?" Derrick asked.
"Well it can't be helped." Shan interrupted.
"It was very nice to meet you Miss." Shan continued.
"We didn't talk very much though." I said.
"Its fine, I must be on my way." he said.
"Okay then, have a safe trip." I said before he left the room.
"That was odd." Derrick said placing the water on a nearby table.
"Well, we did what we have to do, can we go now?" I asked.
"Sure, I'm not fond of these things anyway." Ciel said taking a sip of his drink.
"Shall we go?" Sebastian asked.
"Do you need to talk with the Queen Derrick?" I asked.
"No, I explained everything already so it's fine, let's go before anyone else wants to meet you." Derrick said pushing me towards the door.
God, why is everything so blurry, my head hurts. I thought to myself as I got out of the carriage. The ride home was as boring as it was the ride to the party, but it was different, my head spun and my vision blurred. It looked like Ciel was the same, he didn't do anything about it either but you can tell he was unsettled.
"Hey Ciel what's wrong?" I said my voice slurred.
"I dunno, I just can't think straight." he replied, his voice uneven as well.
"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Derrick asked.
"I need a band-aid, this thing hurts like hell!" I said holding up my hand that was cut slightly.
"When did that happen?" Ciel asked as he hiccupped.
"I dunno." I said laughing.
What the hell is wrong with me?! I'm not thinking right what am I saying?!
"A-Are you drunk?!" Derrick asked grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.
"Whoa! Not too hard my eyes are gunna fly outta my head." I hiccupped.
"Sebastian we have a problem!" Derrick said grabbing Ciel's shirt and mine.
"What the bloody hell happened to you two?" Sebastian asked closing the door.
"What do you mean? I, we're fine!" Ciel hiccupped.
"Ciel, we are not fine! I just dunno what happened!" I said laughing between words.
"It was probably Shan's fault; he was glaring at Clary for a while." Derrick said releasing his grip.
"My head hurts, I feel dizzy." I hiccupped.
"Wait let me see your hand again." Derrick said grabbing my hand.
"Shit!" Derrick gasped.
"What!? There probably isn't anything wrong you pansy!" I shouted.
"Does this look fine to you?" Derrick asked holding out my hand.
It was red and swollen where I was bleeding, the tips of my fingers were turning purple from the lack of blood flow.
"When did that happen?" Sebastian asked.
"Well when that Wu guy shook my hand I felt like something poked my palm but I didn't really pay attention to it." I said.
"Then that settles it, he is an enemy of ours." Ciel hiccupped.
"Sebastian, it's time to do some work!" Ciel hiccupped again.
"Oh no, you are not going to stress yourself any further, we will start tomorrow when you're sober." Sebastian said frowning.
"Eh!? But, but tomorrow is the 25th! It's a holiday we should do something to celebrate!" I said wobbling over to Sebastian.
"No, now both of you have to rest we will figure out what happened to you in the morning, Derrick go find one of the servants' and have them treat Clarissa's hand." Sebastian said.
"Sebby! Lighten up I'm sure it isn't a big deal." I said tugging on his sleeve.
"Sebby?" Sebastian asked.
"Sebby I want some sweets! Make me something." Ciel hiccupped, laughing at what he had said.
"What the hell you too Ciel!?" Derrick shouted.
"At this rate they'll get out of control, I'll handle Ciel you handle Clarissa." Sebastian said picking up Ciel and leading him away.
"Let go of me Sebby!" Ciel shrieked.
"Good luck dealing with that." Derrick sighed.
"I'm tired my head hurts." I said wobbling towards the hall.
"Oh no you don't we have to go check out what's up with your hand." Derrick said grabbing my arm.
"I can't feel it." I said holding out my right hand.
"Which is why we need to go. Who do you think will know more about this?" Derrick asked.
"Well, judging by, how the blood isn't flowing. What do you think it is?" I hiccupped.
"I have an idea, but it's a longshot. Why would he do this though, and how?" Derrick mumbled.
"Where are we going?" I asked as I tried to keep up with the demon.
"To look for someone." Derrick said picking up his pace.
"What if your suspicions are wrong?" I hiccupped.
"Then, you will have one less hand." Derrick laughed nervously.
"Great." I muttered.
"So, what did you drink at the party?" Derrick asked.
"I can't remember, can't we just figure this out in the morning?" I asked tripping over my feet.
"Son of a-" Derrick started as he picked me up.
"Do you even know where you're going!" I shouted trying to adjust my eyes.
"We're here already." Derrick said as he stopped in front of the door.
"S-So we came to Snake?" I asked.
"Yeah, I told you it's a longshot." Derrick said as he opened the door.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I warned but it was too late.
Snake's snakes shot out of the room and coiled around Derrick hissing softly.
"U-Uh, Snake? Are you in there?" I asked.
"Oh, Clary it's just you, says Dan." Snake said quietly.
The snakes loosened their grasp and Derrick put me on the floor.
"We need your help." Derrick said.
"What kind of help? Says Wordsworth." Snake said.
"Well, we need you to see." Derrick said.
"Come in, says Wordsworth." Snake said.
The room was dark and cold; Snake lit various candles and motioned for us to come in. I saw Dan slither towards me and coiled up my arm. He nodded his head to Wordsworth and then went back to Snake.
"It seems as though someone wasn't too friendly with you, says Wordsworth." Snake said.
"So what's the problem?" Derrick asked.
"Venom, injected from a small needle, used for assassination. Says Dan." Snake said.
"How do we solve this then?" I hiccupped franticly.
"I'll have my family fetch an antidote. How long has your hand been like this? Says Dan." Snake said.
"I'm not sure." I said.
"For about 30 minutes, maybe a bit more." Derrick said.
"This isn't good, can you feel anything? Says Wordsworth." Snake said.
"No, I stopped feeling anything like 5 minutes ago." I hiccupped.
"Hopefully they find it in time." Derrick said.
"I'm sure they will, says Dan." Snake said walking over to a cabinet.
"What are you doing?" Derrick asked.
"We need some supplies other than the antidote, says Wordsworth." Snake said, grabbing a needle and syringe.
"Well I guess you can't complain unless you want to lose a hand right?" Derrick joked and I shot him a cold glare.
"How much longer?" I hiccupped.
"Oh they have it, says Wordsworth." Snake said walking over to a pale yellow snake with a tiny bottle in its mouth.
"That's it? Where did they get it so soon?" I asked.
"Well in order to keep the snakes we must have antidotes just in case, none of the snakes will harm the Earl, but just for safety precautions, says Wordsworth." Snake said drawing out some of the liquid in the bottle.
"This will only take a second, says Dan." Snake said grabbing my arm, he took my wrist and inserted the needle to a vain in the center of my wrist.
Slowly he injected the liquid and I began to gain some feeling in my hand, my fingertips were still purple-ish, but I could feel them at the very least.
"Thank you so much." I whispered patting the three snakes' heads.
"It's fine, says Wordsworth." Snake replied.
"God my head feels like its spinning." I muttered as I walked down the hall, Derrick close behind.
"It's your fault stupid, if you had said something earlier then this wouldn't have happened." Derrick said.
"I didn't think that he did that intentionally!" I yelled and stumbled against the wall.
"You're hopeless." Derrick sighed and picked me up once again.
"Just hurry up." I muttered.
"Close your eyes; it might put strain on them in your condition." Derrick said.
"What do you mean?" I asked but closed them anyway.
"Okay open." Derrick said, I did so and we were already at the front of my room.
"Thanks for being considerate." I said as he put me down.
"If you need anything, you know what to do." Derrick said opening the door.
"Thanks." I said walking in.
I quickly got undressed and put on the night gown. I wrapped a bandage around my hand and fell asleep. I was too tired to think about what happened, why it happened, and how it happened. I would just find out in the morning anyway so why bother?
A/N: Thank you guys for being patient (I'm such a slow person but who cares!) Thanks for reading and keep the reviews coming!